What Would Have Been
by claire-bookworm
Summary: A story of what Bella's life would have been if Edward had never returned. Set during New Moon. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One – The Beginning

Everything between me and Jacob had changed since I figured out he was a werewolf. He was the same Jacob that I knew and loved, but he was darker, matured, and unresolved in a way. He always seemed to have something on his mind whenever I saw him.

But, despite everything, I still loved him.

I knew that he could never take the place of Edward, but I started to depend on Jake more and more and as we spent more time together, I fell in love with him.

Jacob had always been in love with me, and I had known that for a long time, but I never really thought that I would get over Edward enough to feel that way for another person…or in this case, werewolf.

We fit together, Jake and I, like two pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. I had never realised it before, until he took me down to the beach that one day…

…It was nothing out of the ordinary because me and Jake came down to the First Beach often. We walked up and down its sandy shores for hours each day, talking or admiring the scenery. But today he took to the tree where we had first met in a sense.

I had come down to La Push with some friends for school because the weather was supposedly fine (though nothing like the weather in Phoenix) and they wanted to surf. It was far too cold for me to get into the water, but Angela was staying behind with me.

As the guys and Jessica were getting ready to catch some waves, Jacob and some of his friends showed up. That was when Jacob first told me about Edward and what he really was and how he got me to figure out what stopped Jake from talking to me for that stressful and somewhat lonely two weeks.

We had walked the full length of the beach and stopped to sit underneath an old oak that was leaning slightly towards the salty water of the ocean.

The first time that I realised that I was in love with Jacob was much the same. We usually didn't walk the full length of the beach, but today we had the whole day to ourselves and decided to spend it walking and talking.

When we did make it to the end of the beach, Jake reminded me ever so kindly of the fact that this was where it had all started. He spoke gently and slowly, reminiscing on all the good times that we had spent together, before and after he had become a werewolf.

As he spoke, I pictured everything he talked about perfectly in my head and slowly started to realise how much Jacob meant to me. I figured out that without his help, I would never have gotten past my grieving; I would never have gone back to my old friends at school.

Without Jacobs help, I would still be a mess. That was when I realised that I was in love with him…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - Permission

"Bella?" Charlie called as he walked in the door. Who else would it be?

"Yeah Dad? I'm in the kitchen," I answered, watching the stove so that dinner didn't burn. I was making a stir fry, one of Charlie's favourites. I planned on talking to him about something important, so I was trying to soften him up.

"How was your day at the station?" I asked.

"Same old, how was yours? You spent the day with Jacob again didn't you?" he replied.

"Yeah. It was great, we spent the whole day down at the beach."

He moved into the kitchen, curious of what I was cooking. Approving, he walked into the lounge and flicked on the baseball game. Occasionally he would yell something out or clap his hands, but didn't seem interested that much in what I was doing.

I continued to watch the dinner, turning the rice off and dishing that up before moving onto the vegetables and meat.

"Dad, dinners ready," I called after quickly wiping down the bench. He grunted as he got off the couch, not really wanting to miss the next fifteen minutes of the game. 'He'll survive,' I thought to myself.

"Thanks Bells, this looks really nice. What's the occasion?" he complemented.

"Well Dad, I was wondering what you thought of me and Jacob getting together, you know, as a couple?" I had thought that it would be so much harder to say that to him, I was obviously expecting the worst.

"You mean boyfriend/girlfriend getting together as a couple thing, right?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, is that alright? Like, I know that you and Billy are really good friends and all and I don't want to stuff that up for you by going out with his son." I replied. Charlie's face broke into a smile, something I hadn't seen for awhile.

"Bells, that's the best news from you I have heard in a long time. I'm so glad to see you happy again! And Jacob of all people." He was grinning now, thrilled that I had picked someone he approved of.

"When did this happen?" Charlie asked.

"I'm not quite sure, I suppose it happened gradually as we started to spend more time together. I think that Jacob has always felt this way for me, since we first met." I stopped there, thinking I had said too much.

Charlie nodded, standing up from the table at the same time. He took his plate and moved it to the sink.

"Thanks again for dinner. The food around here is so much better now that you're here." He walked back into the lounge to finish watching the game.

I finished my dinner, discarding the remains in the bin before placing it on the bench. I would get to them later. First I had to call Jacob.


End file.
